Granby hires new police chief

Members of the Granby City Council voted to hire a new police chief in a special meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Todd G. Higdon

GRANBY — Members of the Granby City Council voted to hire a new police chief in a special meeting Tuesday afternoon.

The council started off in open session and then went into closed session at 4:13 p.m. and was back in open session at 4:35 p.m.

"The council has voted to hire Jacob Kelley, 31, from Norwood, Mo., as the next police chief," Granby Mayor Donna Fullerton said. "We will have to notify him, tell him the kind of money we are offering, [tell him] about six months probation, so forth and so on. It's still depending on whether he accepts the job or not."

The former police chief, Scott Whitman, resigned on Dec. 28, 2012. Whitman has served twice as Granby's chief of police and was also a detective with the Newton County Sheriff's Department.

"I guess we had seven apply for the position, according to Barry [Flint, chairman of the Granby Police Personnel Board]," she said. "They got down to four and (then) we interviewed four."

Fullerton would not disclose the council's vote or the salary until 72 hours have passed.

Fullerton said Kelley has been the chief at Fordland, Mo.

"He is a very impressive young man," she said. "He had some ideas of what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go and is willing to move to town. It was a tough decision with three Granby officers in the running."

With the hiring of Kelley, that will give the police force a total of four officers.

"It will give us a full crew," Fullerton said.

Fullerton noted Kelley is currently in school and will finish in May. He is studying for an associates degree in criminal justice and psychology. Kelley has a wife and two children.